The Intrepid's Guide to Discovering Truth

In the world at large, anything that is considered to be evil needs to be defeated. This assumption presupposes that if people fail to initiate a crusade to stop evil, that evil will not only be self-sufficient, but also expansionist. That is a romantic idea, but it doesn't reflect how the world operates. The failure here is to properly define the core nature of good and evil. The definition of "good" from the Webster's 1828 Dictionary: 1. Valid; legally firm; not weak or defective; having strength adequate to its support; as a good title; a good deed; a good claim. 2. Valid; sound; not weak, false or fallacious; as a good argument. 3. Complete or sufficiently perfect in its kind; having the physical qualities best adapted to its design and use; opposed to bad, imperfect, corrupted, impaired. We say, good timber, good cloth, a good soil, a good color. And God saw the light, that it was good    Genesis 1:4 . The definition of "evil" from the Webster...

What exactly is The Book of Mormon ? It is a volume of ancient scripture that was translated by Joseph Smith in the early Nineteenth century. It was not translated through scholarship or knowledge is ancient languages, but its translation was in fact a miracle! Joseph  Smith knew nothing of ancient languages or interpretation of them, but he somehow, through the gift and power of God, was able to do it.  The writer, as Joseph  Smith discovered, in the first part of the the Book of Mormon was named Nephi. He had been telling his narrative of how his father was called to be a prophet in 600 BC. His father was trying to warn the Jews at Jerusalem that unless they relented speedily, the Babylonian Empire would fall in and crush them.  The Jews had shortly before revolted from Babylon and had signed a treaty with Egypt. They thought they were secure form threat. And so they thought Nephi's father to be a mad-man or some kind of rebel. They sought to take away...

When injured, hurt, or sick, the body needs special attention to heal. It needs appropriate food and nutrition. It needs rest and time to recuperate. perhaps even extensive rehabilitation  In a very big way, a person must turn their attention inward to fix what's infirm. However, it's an interesting dichotomy to consider that while the body needs to turn inward to heal,  the spirit must turn outward to be treated.  Why does the spirit need to turn outward to be healed? I think it is as simple as the paradoxical saying of Jesus: " [For] Whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it." In essence, when one is selfish or self serving, he actually damages his own soul! But when one forgets himself in the service of others, he actually find that he has made his spirit whole!  Therefore, whenever you feel self-critical, depressed, angry or upset. Turn outward and look for someone to serve! Look for someo...

I've been serving as a missionary for a long time now. Almost two years! I look back to the beginning, back when I was in upstate New York. I was very much ignorant of what the future would hold. I had only been out for three months and was trying to do my best to teach what I felt (and still feel) strongly is the truth. I remember all the sticky situations in vivid clarity. We scraped by, but one thing is for sure: ignorance will always lead to error.  I remember that hot humid August, we were on Main Street in Poughkeepsie going to an appointment with a man who rented a room on the fourth floor. We were preparing him to be baptized in the fall. He had been reading vivaciously out of the Book of Mormon early on in the read he came to a rather curious and difficult to explain circumstance that happens in chapter 4, verses 6 through 13.  In summery, A prophet named Nephi was told by the Spirit to do something  he thought was wrong. Nephi was a young person, prob...

Immutable, Unlimited, Axiomatic: Truth does not change, Based on circumstances, Or preferences. A vote cannot change The reality of truth. Even things considered Subjective and individual Still eve'rely On the monolithic giant; Truth. 

As missionaries, we receive a lot of questions about Christianity and especially about our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. ( Mormon.org ) as we have been out and about in our missionary service, we got a text from a good friend who wanted our opinion. He asked us what our thought were about the following: "Jesus taught, 'Love God with all your heart, might, mind, and strength; And love your neighbor as yourself." (Mathew 22:37-39) Why is it that Christians are so unwilling to abide by these simple principles? They delight in violence, they hate their neighbor in throwing out the immigrant, and grind the face of the poor. What's worse is that they hold to these things as theological principles! The whole religion is riddled with hypocrisy! For believers in a religion that is supposed to teach compassion, it's application is completely barbaric!  So I have three thoughts on this subject: that most people are only Christian in name, that Chri...

How many times have you heard "believe, because I told you so?" Or how many times have you heard "stop questioning and just have faith?" Such authoritarian commands paint religion into a corner of ignorant obedience without question. But we actually want to know God! We want to actually feel His love. So, how do we actually build a personal relationship with God? Is it possible? Yes! And here is how to do it. There is an element of religion called revelation. This revelation can come down the ranks of ecclesiastical authority, but more impactive to us is that God can speak to us directly. Have you ever felt that God was speaking to you? We call this personal revelation. It can be obtained through doing some simple, yet important things: 1. Start by being humble enough to pray and open up to God 2. Study as much as you can about God. Read out of the scriptures, but also read other books about God. Gather as much information as you can. Many peop...